Modern residential and commercial building construction makes use of a great deal of gypsum wallboard, or drywall, for interior wall and ceiling panel construction. The material requires much less labor and skill than earlier interior wall and ceiling finishing techniques (e.g., plaster), and consequently is considerably more economical when labor costs are considered.
Nevertheless, a fair amount of highly skilled labor is involved in cutting, shaping, and smoothing wallboard, even before joint tape and wallboard compound is applied and finished. Conventionally, a utility knife or the like is used to cut the wallboard panels as desired to fit rough door, window, and other openings and shapes, as well as to conform to other areas to be paneled. Each time a board is cut, the paper surfaces on each side produce a slightly protruding edge which must be smoothed, resulting in the need for another tool, and if the relatively rough edge of the gypsum core is to form an exterior corner it must be smoothed also, which need requires yet another tool. The alternative is considerable filling with wallboard compound to smooth the edges and surfaces, which procedure is both labor and material intensive.
The need arises for a single tool which may be used to cut the board or score it for breaking to the required dimensions, and also provides for the smoothing of the relatively rough edge of the gypsum core after such cutting or breaking operation and for the smoothing or burnishing of the edge of the paper after such cutting or breaking. The tool should be durable and safe to use, and further provide for the replacement of cutting blades as required.